BY TODD DYBAS / SEATTLESPORTSONLINE.COM

Lauren Jackson was pensive, exultant, engaged Tuesday night. Just not in uniform.

That was a problem. For the first time since Jackson's injury, the Storm appeared in desperate need of her services.

Candace Parker was in the flow. Loose on the break, strong on the block. The rookie was on her way to 20 points, for the first time in the series pushing past Seattle's attempts to slow her.

Not so back in July. Jackson was there to shove shot after shot back in the rookie's face, three in fact, when the Storm spanked the Sparks, 70-52 in KeyArena.

It was the sixth consecutive Seattle win, but it was Jackson's last impression wearing a Storm uniform in 2008. She was off to the Olympics, then ultimately the surgeon's table.

The Storm made it to the Olympic break without Jackson. Everything was fine. The thought being she'd be back and it would be a September to remember.

Jackson returned, but not to the floor. Seattle found success without her, but that now prompts wonder about what could have been.

The Storm won a franchise-best 22 games. What if Jackson had been healthy?

The Storm finished 17-2 at KeyArena. What if Jackson had been healthy?

The Storm was the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. What if Jackson had been healthy?

The team had moved forward without her. Camille Little emerged as Brian Agler's best personnel move since his arrival. Little cost the Storm its second-round pick in the 2009 draft. When acquired, she was averaging a pedestrian 4.4 points per game for drain-circling Atlanta. Agler touted her as bench depth. She became a starter and Parker's main adversary in this series.

With Jackson healthy, such a quality backup would have made the Storm that much more potent. What if Little came off the bench all year?

Sheryl Swoopes was in and out of the lineup all season, recovered from her back injury but her 37-year-old body more susceptible to the daily dings of the season.

Yolanda Griffith played 35 games this season. By the end, it was only personal will that put her back on the floor. "For a normal person, it would probably be questionable. For Yolanda, she'll find a way to be out there," Agler said after Game 2.

Swin Cash was a non-factor against the Sparks. She scored eight points in the three games.

Jackson's presence would have lightened the load on all three.

There are numerous sayings about hope versus reality, some crude but true, comparing wishful thought with tangible results.

The hope was Jackson would be back. The reality, she wasn't.

The hope was for a miraculous early recovery. The reality, a post-practice ice bag around a foot in a flip-flop.

The hope was for the Storm's first title since 2004. The reality, that wasn't happening without Jackson.

Parker and the Sparks kicked hope out of KeyArena Tuesday, leaving the Storm with the reality of going home in the first round again.

As Parker found room to move Tuesday night, Jackson was stuck at the end of the bench, helpless.

Seeing her there, staring out at the floor was enough to make you wonder. What if?

Todd Dybas is the editor of Seattlesportsonline.com. Contact him at tdybas@seattlesportsonline.com